and with the amount of scrutiny and nail-biting that goes on with each and every snippet we get to see, I can understand not wanting to show us everything in advance. I for one want to be taken by surprise on a lot of things, and the only way for me to do that is not to look. There are many things that we, as long-time fans, would like to see and know, but for the general public (for whom these films are made) these other characters have no meaning...yet. "Age is always advancing and I'm fairly sure it's up to no good." Harry Dresden (Jim Butcher)

I totally agree with that, and trust the publicity for T & L does not indicate these two will be major players in the film
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If it is the case that they are bombarding us with images of those two as a kind of cover for the good stuff that is to come, that is absolutely fine by me. I too don't want to be spoiled by seeing Beorn, Smaug, Thranduil and all our established heroes again much before I see DoS.

I'm very much hoping that is what is happening here…

In Reply To

Personally, the more footage and shots of Tauriel and Legolas they recycle/reveal, the better. Because they're the characters i'm the least interested in and it means everything else won't get spoiled too quickly.

A Beorn/Bolg feud developed and resolved over two movies will provide the audience with a real sense of connection.

Contrast that with Dain appearing at the BOFA a huge movement itself and then "there now Dain son of Nain took up his abode, and he became king under the mountain, and in time..."is all we are offered then he can only act as historical back drop like Thror. To acknowledge his ascension to the restored throne ticks a box but after nine hours of fully developed journeys with so many others it can only act as historical colour. If you were to deepen Dains involvement in the final film you would have to build toward it and that in story telling terms would be a distraction. I do not see the March of the Army of the Iron Hills being treated like the Ride of The Rohirrim.

Dain has denied offer of help there would have to be some face to face rapprochement now between Dain and Thorin for the story to gain traction. Indeed the more I think about the implications that Dain has been seen to refuse help, without some kind of managed change of heart on his part, a last minute dash to the mountain is not going to look very noble. All in all this is a grey area for me at present. My Dear Bilbo something is the matter with you! you are not the same hobbit that you were.

Why, out of all the main characters, these three are so secret? We have seen pictures and toys of bolg but no footage. We seen beorn footage from trailer and brief pic from calendar and that's it. And dain we have seen absolutely nothing! Are these three reduced now to minor roles? To me they are all very important characters, but it seems that jackson must think tauriel and Lego as more superior! What do you think? And I mean no footage even behind the scenes!

This is about marketing, and not giving you a sneak peak at what you most want to see.

This has NOTHING to do with who has the biggest roles in the film and who is going to have minor roles or be excluded. This is about putting butts in the seats at the movie theater (and my butt and your butt are going to be there regardless.)

Evangeline Lily, Orlando Bloom, and Luke Evans are "Hollywood Pretty." They are going to attract the audience members who might not normally see a fantasy movie. That is why you see their faces slapped everywhere. It is about ticket sales. Giving people a sneak peak of Beorn or Dain or the Necromancer or giant honey bees might appeal to the Tolkien fans, but the Tolkien fans are buying tickets regardless. The #1 concern for the movie studios is to attract customers outside the normal demographic for a movie like this. That is why Arwen got a bigger role in the past, that is why Thorin looks so handsome, and that is why you are seeing this current marketing campaign.

The only way in my mind Dain could appear in DOS would be part of a flashback involving Gandalf meting Thorin in Bree and Thorin subsequently trying to recruit Dain and other dwarves for the Erebor quest. “I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

The only way in my mind Dain could appear in DOS would be part of a flashback involving Gandalf meeting Thorin in Bree and Thorin subsequently trying to recruit Dain and other dwarves for the Erebor quest.

Realistically, none of the Iron Hill Dwarves should have been at the Ered Luin meeting. If they had been, Thorin should have had a better idea of the condition of the lands and roads that he was going to be traveling through. Dain was probably not there in any event; chances are that he sent an envoy instead. 'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.' - Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring